Supermarket Bakery and Hot Braised Food Sales Surge; Yonghui, Juewei, Zhou Hei Ya Benefit

Supermarket bakery sections have expanded rapidly over the past two years, becoming a core part of experiential retail. After renovation, Yonghui's bakery sections in commercial areas saw daily sales multiply, while Bubugao's bread section sales more than sevenfold during the Spring Festival. Hot braised food has a broader consumption scenario than bakery. In December 2025, a report from the China Chain Store & Franchise Association indicated that supermarket on-site prepared food sales exceeded 100 billion yuan, with representative top-100 companies' sales share generally exceeding 10%, some approaching 20%, and average gross margin around 40%. Among categories that drive traffic, generate margin, and evoke a lively atmosphere, bakery and prepared food stand out, with hot braised food being a key subcategory. In contrast, the overall braised food category grew 3.7% in 2024 and is expected to grow below 3% in 2025, with hot braised food as the main growth driver. Hot braised food spans breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and late-night snacks, while bakery mainly covers breakfast and afternoon tea. Hot braised food can be extended to braised rice, braised noodles, braised platters, snacks, and dishes for guests, covering from main meals to snacks and social occasions. Leading supermarkets such as Yonghui, Hema, Sam's Club, and Pangdonglai have begun to incorporate hot braised food into their on-site processing lines. Braised food brands are shifting from packaged leisure products to fresh preparation, with supply chains, cold chains, and taste standardization gradually established, supporting supermarkets' entry into the hot braised segment. In 2025, brands such as Juewei, Huang Shang Huang, and Zhou Hei Ya collectively pivoted to the hot braised segment. Juewei added hot braised counters to 60% of its stores, launching a 4.9 yuan hot braised rice noodle combo that sold 700,000 units in the first month on Douyin. Huang Shang Huang opened dedicated hot braised stores in Nanchang, offering items from 8.9 yuan mixed noodles to 23.9 yuan single-person meals, with lunchtime table turnover reaching three times per hour. Zhou Hei Ya launched a standalone sub-brand '3 Jin Ban' and entered over 80 supermarket channels including Sam's Club, Pangdonglai, and Yonghui, with nearly 40,000 terminal sales points. Data shows that cold braised food accounts for 23% of lunch and dinner consumption, while hot braised food rises to 67%, indicating a shift from snack to main meal scenarios. Supermarkets face higher operational barriers in hot braised food. Cold braised food has a shelf life of days, and bakery items can be baked in advance for display, but hot braised food must be freshly scooped and cut, served hot, with a freshness window of hours. The brine must be freshly prepared and adjusted daily, demanding high flavor consistency. Loss control is also more complex, as foot traffic during lunch and dinner peaks is difficult to forecast precisely; overstocking or understocking affects margins. Store operations require all-day shift coverage and reorganized flow lines to ensure service efficiency. Cold chain, utensil handling, waste oil disposal, and open-kitchen hygiene add to the complexity.